--- a/main.cpp	Sun Sep 13 19:40:11 2026 +0000
+++ b/main.cpp	Sun Sep 13 19:48:34 2026 +0000
@@ -1,6 +1,41 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <sstream>
 #include "process.h"
+#include <filesystem>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <chrono>
+#include <cstdlib>
+
+namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+
+std::string get_package_list() {
+    const char* home = std::getenv("HOME");
+    fs::path cache_dir = fs::path(home) / ".cache" / "xt";
+    fs::path cache_file = cache_dir / "packages.txt";
+
+    const auto max_age = std::chrono::minutes(30);
+
+    if (fs::exists(cache_file)) {
+    auto last_write = fs::last_write_time(cache_file);
+    auto now = decltype(last_write)::clock::now();
+    auto age = now - last_write;
+        if (age < max_age) {
+            std::ifstream in(cache_file);
+            std::string contents((std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(in)), std::istreambuf_iterator<char>());
+            return contents;
+        }
+    }
+
+    // cache missing or stale, re-query
+    char* const query_argv[] = { const_cast<char*>("xbps-query"), const_cast<char*>("-Rs"), const_cast<char*>(""), nullptr };
+    std::string package_list = run_piped(query_argv, "");
+
+    fs::create_directories(cache_dir);
+    std::ofstream out(cache_file);
+    out << package_list;
+
+    return package_list;
+}
 std::string extract_pkgname(const std::string& fzf_line) {
     std::istringstream iss(fzf_line);
     std::string marker, pkgver;
@@ -8,8 +43,7 @@
     return pkgver;
 }
 int main() {
-    char* const query_argv[] = { const_cast<char*>("xbps-query"), const_cast<char*>("-Rs"), const_cast<char*>(""), nullptr };
-    std::string package_list = run_piped(query_argv, ""); 
+    std::string package_list = get_package_list(); 
     char* const fzf_argv[] = { const_cast<char*>("fzf"), nullptr };
     std::string result = run_piped(fzf_argv, package_list);